Protesting Irish Sugar workers vent fury at Greencore

AS father and son, Paddy and John Dineen have given 80 years to the Irish Sugar plant in Mallow.

Now aged 78, Paddy joined his son yesterday as the former workers at the factory protested outside Greencore headquarters in Dublin.

“To see the industry closing makes me feel sad,” said Paddy, who left the company 13 years ago after 48 years.

“But the way they are treating their workers who gave great service, I think, it’s scandalous.”

His son started work at the plant at age 16, where he worked for 32 years, before he and all the other workers were laid off last May.

“It’s the only place I worked. I feel very badly the way we have been treated by Greencore,” said John.

“We entered a partnership agreement two years ago. The company told us we were protecting our jobs and the industry. Two years later we were sold out.”

The protest was held after Greencore ignored a third recommendation from the Labour Court which awarded workers significantly improved redundancy terms.

John has three children, including one girl in college, as well as a mortgage. He is luckier than some, in that he has got a job since.

“I’ve great memories of the place,” said his dad, “but what’s happening is an injustice. I wouldn’t mind if the company had gone into liquidation, but this is a wealthy company, which made over €30 million last year in the Mallow plant.”

Some 130 workers and their families protested outside the headquarters near Stephen’s Green after travelling up from Mallow by train and bus.

One of them was Pat Haugh who has not found any work since May.

“It’s very tough financially. There’s no work in Mallow for a tradesman, with Dairygold gone as well. There’s no industry around Mallow.”

Aged 50 next month, Pat worked with the company for 32 years.

“I’ve a mortgage and a car loan to pay off. I have one lad in college and two in secondary school.”

He said the workers were going to get what they were entitled to, no matter what it took.

Billy Noonan, aged 45, from Dromtariffe, near Millstreet, worked at the plant for 27 years.

Like Pat, he has one child in college and two still in school.

“The Labour Court is the highest court in the land for labour relations. For the company to carry on like that is unbelievable,” said Billy.

Siptu general secretary Joe O’Flynn said it was frightening to see the “corporate greed” practiced by Greencore.

He warned the company that while this was their first protest outside the HQ it would not be the last.

“Unless they pay what is rightfully due to workers of Irish sugar, the company has seen nothing yet,” he said.

In a statement Greencore said: “The company rejects unions’ claim for payment of the shift premium and overtime both in the salary and in the additional 20% bonus which is clearly an attempt to get paid on the double and is in breach of the company/union agreement. The company will not pay on the double under any circumstances.”